Trends Identified
Alternative food sources
Insects have been a food staple in some countries for centuries, but they are now beginning to disrupt Western agriculture and aquaculture with their high feed efficiencies and attractive environmental credentials. With increasing demand for high-protein food and new products appearing regularly, this is a breakthrough market to watch.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Construction in progress
As we build the world around us at ever-growing speed, the highly-emitting construction sector must adopt circular approaches and adapt to disruptive technologies in order to cut emissions. Upcycling waste into construction materials will result in a six-fold value increase, strengthening the industry’s foundations.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Reuse to repower
As the mobility sector transitions to an electric future, we will soon see a wave of used batteries becoming obsolete when their capacity becomes too low to use in electric vehicles (EVs). However, by repurposing mobile EV batteries in new stationary settings, it is possible to double battery life cycles to more than 20 years.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Upcycling carbon
Urgently cutting carbon emissions at source is essential to mitigating catastrophic climate change, and negative emissions are needed to keep us on the well below 2°C pathway. Business is increasingly discovering ways to upcycle carbon, generating more value, emitting less and accelerating carbon negative technologies.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Keeping it cool
As the planet warms and populations become increasingly urbanised, the demand for cooling is on the rise, but existing technology is outdated and heavily polluting. With the increasing need to reduce carbon emissions, this growing market presents more and more opportunities to reduce the need for cooling and make cooling efficient.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Sustainable shipping
International trade relies on shipping, and despite technological improvements, emissions continue to increase as trade increases. Decarbonising short-haul shipping is an expanding market opportunity driven by developments in battery technology and alternative fuels, with the potential to help the sector’s low-carbon transition.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Reimagining plastics
Plastics are an integral part of the global economy, but the current linear value chain results in high proportions of underutilised resources that end up in the oceans and threaten marine ecosystems. Innovation opportunities are emerging in material design and the reprocessing of plastics to unlock latent value and protect the oceans.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Alternative aquaculture
Aquaculture is expected to grow significantly to meet the forecast aggressive demand for fish and shell sh. Improving environmental standards through modular, land-based systems, as well as alternative feedstocks and closed-loop systems, can provide new business opportunities and conserve natural marine ecosystems.
2018
Global opportunity report
DNV GL
Tightening central banks
For the last several years, central banks around the world have engaged in quantitative easing, interest-rate reductions and a general loosening of monetary policy. That's already reversing in the United States, which raised its overnight rate three times in 2017, to between 1.25 percent and 1.5 percent, but in other developed nations rates remain at ultralow levels. For instance, Sweden still has a negative interest rate of minus 0.5 percent. That's likely to change in 2018, says Jeff Knight, Columbia Threadneedle Investments' global head of investment solutions and co-head of global asset allocation. Many people expect the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates at some point in 2018, while Bank of England may raise its rate, too. "Other central banks are a year or two behind the Fed in the cycle," he says.
2018
6 global trends that can derail your portfolio in 2018
CNBC
Rising tensions with north Korea
North Korea may now be sending athletes to the Winter Olympics in South Korea, but the threat of war with America remains. While global stock markets haven't reacted much to a potential nuclear fallout, conflict continues to be a risk, says Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors, an Oklahoma City-based financial advisory firm.
2018
6 global trends that can derail your portfolio in 2018
CNBC